When a man is found in the middle of Alfreton Road in the early hours one Sunday morning, stark naked and bleeding heavily from a chest wound, he is the latest in a series of viscous attacks on men. Enquiries in the mean-streets of Nottingham"s red-light district have brought the investigations to a dead end. Charlie Resnick is the man for the job. And as if he hasn"t had enough to deal with, he now has to provide police protection for a celebrity at the annual crime convention - an author with some very unpleasant "fan" mail. Chronically short-staffed as he is, it"s a guessing game as to when Resnick"s lack of manpower will have fatal consequences.